Canada - We Honor the Holodomor

amk2012

Most cultures have a way of honoring their ancestors.  The heart remembers times past and the spirit learns, and develops a deeper, richer understanding of human potential.  Still, the loss of one individual leaves a hole in families, a void that takes so long to heal - but does it ever?

But when the loss is not one person, not ten, not a hundred nor a thousand, but millions?   What can the heart remember and what does the spirit learn?  What of lost potential?  What of lives cut short not by the will of the Creator, but by the will of "rulers"? What if we "break faith with those who die", shall they sleep? (John McCrae)

Today is an opportunity to remember the Ukrainian nation's ancestors, those who died by the will of "rulers", and acknowledge, though they are gone, though their physical strengths are gone, their amazing potential energy is still felt in the world.  A person of character will know we are not human doings, we are human beings - and the spirit is eternal!  Honor the Holodomor!

In Calgary - Saturday, November 24, 2012 - http://ukrainiancalgary.blogspot.ca/2012/10/calgarys-holodomor-commemoration-2012.html

http://ukrainiancalgary.blogspot.ca/2012/07/lest-we-forget-ukrainian-holodomor.html

http://ukrainiancalgary.blogspot.ca/2012/11/after-supper-conversation-about.html

http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=3&pageId=49&id=5177
Prime Minister Harper's statement on the occasion of the 79th Honoring of the Holodomor

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2012/11/21/how-stalin-s-terrible-famine-in-ukraine-was-exposed-by-a-western-mail-writer-91466-32278424/

Gareth Jones reporting the Holodomor in 1933

http://www.day.kiev.ua/205188

James Mace - Just as one cannot study the Holocaust without becoming half-Jewish in spirit, one cannot study the Famine and not become at least half-Ukrainian.

Former Prime Minister Campbell on Ukraine

Ethics, enterprise, and equity - these are words I  would like to hear more often when discussing the future of Ukraine.  Possibly the most important of them would be ethics - the ethics of a free and democratic state building a bright and prosperous future for all its citizens. 

Thankfully, the Ukrainian Canadian community has communicated long and well with our elected officials, and besides concerning themselves with the wellbeing of Canadians, many of these gracious individuals are doing more than simply listening intently.  In fact, besides the Observer Mission to monitor the upcoming Parliamentary Elections in Ukraine on October 28th, Canadian officials from Prime Minister Harper, to Former Alberta Premier Stelmach, to Former Prime Minister Campbell are advocating for Ukraine's democratic freedoms.

http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/former-canadian-premier-free-trade-area-with-eu-better-for-ukraine-than-customs-union-with-russia-314752.html

2012 Historic Election Mission to Ukraine - Harper

During the forthcoming elections in Ukraine, Canada is helping the young state with election observers to ensure freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.  Canada's bonds with Ukraine are deep and wide, and thanks to waves of immigration to Canada, Ukraine's diaspora in Canada now numbers over a million and a quarter people.  The Ukrainian Canadian community has worked to forge excellent relationships with our Canadian government - and through this relationship, encourage Ukraine on its journey to providing its citizens the freedoms we have realized here in this free land. 

Recently, the Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honorable Stephen Harper spoke to the delegation being sent as observers to the upcoming elections in Ukraine.  The clarity of his words indicate a thorough and serious understanding of the Ukrainian diaspora's concerns for the ancestral homeland.  Speaking to Canadians, he shows our nation's determination to support the free life, democracy, political maturity, and rule of law for all people.  As he says, Ukraine is simply a very important place in the world, not only for its citizens, but for Europe, Eurasia, its diaspora, and the world.  Canada is simply standing vigilant with the world in service to the greater good - a free, democratic Ukraine, human rights and the rule of law.

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Politics/ID/2294026115/